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A new Kentucky Supreme Court justice will be sworn in to office next week.

A statement from the Administrative Office of the Courts says Debra Hembree Lambert will be formally sworn in as a justice on Feb. 4 at the state Capitol in Frankfort. She was elected to the court in November and will serve the 3rd Supreme Court District, which includes 27 counties in southern and south-central Kentucky.

Before her election to the Supreme Court, Lambert served as an appellate judge for four years and before that was a circuit judge for Lincoln, Pulaski and Rockcastle counties.

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul testified Monday that he feared for his life after being hit by a blindside tackle from a neighbor, who broke several of his ribs while he was doing yard work at his Kentucky home.

The Republican senator was the first witness in the trial on his lawsuit against attacker Rene Boucher.

In recounting the 2017 attack, Paul said he got off his riding mower to pick up a stick and was straightening up when Boucher hit him with such force that both flew through the air 5 or 10 feet (1.5 to 3 meters).

A civil rights leader gave an impassioned speech in front of thousands as he urged Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee and others in attendance to not just love Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy but act.

The Tennessean reports the Rev. William Barber II delivered a fiery and sometimes adversarial speech Monday in Nashville at an event honoring King. Barber is the co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign.

A Western Kentucky University dormitory where mold was discovered last year will remain closed until fall while additional work is performed.

The university said in a news release that Minton Hall won't reopen with other residence halls Friday for the spring semester. The release said staff identified additional work needed during an inspection this week.

The school said the additional work includes replacement of porous tiles and possible replacement of windows to help in the future.

A southwest Ohio Republican party is featuring neighboring Kentucky's governor at an annual dinner.

The Hamilton County GOP has announced that Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin will speak March 14 at its Lincoln-Reagan dinner at Cincinnati's Music Hall. Details will be made public later.

The conservative Republican governor announced last August he would seek a second term this year. His approval ratings have fallen amid an unsuccessful attempt to overhaul Kentucky's struggling public pension system over strong opposition from teachers.

The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration says coal-mining related deaths have reached a record low in Kentucky where a single miner died last year.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports the agency said Tuesday that there were 12 deaths at coal mines nationwide in 2018. Federal records and investigators say 29-year-old Hubert Grubbs Jr. died in March when he was caught in an underground conveyor belt at a mine near Cumberland.

A pair of Democrats running for governor in Kentucky have released fundraising totals.

Andy Beshear said he raised more than $470,000 in the past three months, giving him a total of $1.16 million raised since announcing his candidacy last summer. That figure includes $20,000 of Beshear's own money plus another $24,000 of in-kind contributions.

Rocky Adkins said his campaign raised more than $620,000 in less than two months. A spokeswoman said Adkins did not loan himself money for his campaign.